Is it something in the water? This year, prices for rare cars have been soaring. In July, a Mercedes-Benz W196R Formula One car driven by Juan Fangio in the 1954 German grand prix, was auctioned off for $29.6 million. In August, a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 S NART spyder went for $27.5 million in one of the Pebble Beach/Monterey Peninsula auctions (they did, after all, only make 10 of the chic convertibles).

In the world of private sales, which are harder to find out about than those at public auctions, the record appeared to be the $35 million Craig McCaw paid for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. These 50-year-old 250 GTOs may be the priciest Ferraris around. The factory only made 39 of them, between 1962 and 1964, and they don’t trade hands very often.

Now, according to Hemmings Daily, a Greenwich, Conn., collector has sold his 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO in a private sale for $52 million. Just think — assuming the sales tax and license on that car runs about 10 percent, or $5.2 million, you could buy two Bugatti Veyrons and have something left over for a Prius or two.